Amazon Should be the One Moving Its Event

Amazon is likely announcing its first smartphone on the same day (June 18) as T-Mobile’s latest Uncarrier event. Amazon’s event has fueled excitement and speculation about the possible 3D capabilities baked into its rookie handset. T-Mobile presented the location switch as a favor to harried journalists scurrying to cover both events. But it’s more likely the carrier was concerned about trying to compete with Amazon’s big news.

If priorities were in the right place, though, it would be Amazon working around T-Mobile’s schedule. Amazon’s (probably) phone will show off some cool tricks but after the show, it’s still just another Android smartphone. Amazon is an interesting player with a strong ecosystem but it won’t become a major disruptor in the smartphone space on day one.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s Uncarrier party has been the catalyst to substantial U.S. wireless industry change. The brash carrier, led by CEO John “The Mouth” Legere, has by no means completely fixed the situation but it has got the gears turning for some long-overdue changes to wireless service and pricing.

It’s unclear what T-Mobile has planned for Uncarrier 5.0. Pain points in need of addressing still roam the wilderness, but T-Mobile has kept quiet on which one is in its crosshairs next week. It’s also entirely possible that the Showdown in Seattle means the two company’s announcements have something to do with one another.

The only certainty is that Amazon’s neat smartphone won’t have nearly the necessary, immediate effect of T-Mobile’s Uncarrier 5.0.